Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Longyearbyen and Stavanger

For one person, living is cheaper in Longyearbyen: $2,753 a month against $3,182 in Stavanger, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

133

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index
153

Cost of Living Index in Stavanger
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Stavanger Living Index

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Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,753

/mo nomad

Stavanger

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Longyearbyen and in Stavanger

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Longyearbyen and in Stavanger actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,753 in Longyearbyen versus $3,182 in Stavanger.

Longyearbyen $2,753
Stavanger $3,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,188 in Longyearbyen versus $4,594 in Stavanger.

Longyearbyen $4,188
Stavanger $4,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,624 in Longyearbyen versus $6,007 in Stavanger.

Longyearbyen $5,624
Stavanger $6,007

Living in Longyearbyen costs roughly 13% less than in Stavanger, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Longyearbyen 103% above, Stavanger 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.60 NOK 194

$24.06 NOK 227

-14.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 NOK 980

$96.0 NOK 904

8.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.21 NOK 171

$15.68 NOK 148

16.14%

Cappuccino

$6.99 NOK 65.8

$6.18 NOK 58.2

13.11%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.02 NOK 56.7

$5.74 NOK 54.1

4.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 NOK 52.1

$4.51 NOK 42.48

22.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.36 NOK 69.2

$14.04 NOK 132

-47.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.23 NOK 86.9

$10.57 NOK 99.5

-12.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 NOK 22.48

$2.52 NOK 23.72

-5.16%

White Bread (500g)

$3.59 NOK 33.84

$3.51 NOK 33.07

2.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.37 NOK 41.13

$3.97 NOK 37.39

10.08%

Eggs

$4.89 NOK 46.05

$4.79 NOK 45.06

2.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.26 NOK 134

$14.72 NOK 139

-3.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$20.14 NOK 190

$17.47 NOK 164

15.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.12 NOK 293

$36.08 NOK 340

-13.75%

Apples (1kg)

$6.72 NOK 63.2

$3.52 NOK 33.12

90.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 NOK 25.14

$2.84 NOK 26.71

-5.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.80 NOK 64.0

$3.61 NOK 33.98

88.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.57 NOK 61.9

$4.94 NOK 46.50

33.00%

Potato (1kg)

$5.46 NOK 51.4

$2.62 NOK 24.64

108.40%

Onion (1kg)

$4.47 NOK 42.05

$3.19 NOK 30.06

40.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.37 NOK 41.12

$2.75 NOK 25.91

58.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.54 NOK 33.36

$2.31 NOK 21.76

53.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.10 NOK 161

$17.56 NOK 165

-2.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.34 NOK 135

$19.06 NOK 179

-24.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.40 NOK 32.01

$3.82 NOK 35.97

-10.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 NOK 39.52

$4.60 NOK 43.28

-8.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.68 NOK 44.07

$4.70 NOK 44.26

-0.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.2 NOK 783

$88.6 NOK 834

-6.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.19 NOK 86.5

$6.33 NOK 59.6

45.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.88 NOK 17.73

$1.72 NOK 16.19

9.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.8 NOK 667

$103 NOK 973

-31.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 NOK 20.73

$2.39 NOK 22.47

-7.95%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$47.2K NOK 444.5K

$49.2K NOK 462.7K

-3.94%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$43.0K NOK 404.9K

$41.3K NOK 388.4K

4.22%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$266 NOK 2,501

$262 NOK 2,466

1.40%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$33.76 NOK 318

$34.42 NOK 324

-1.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.8 NOK 497

$79.6 NOK 749

-33.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.32 NOK 464

$54.4 NOK 512

-9.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.00 NOK 348

$37.43 NOK 352

-1.15%

Cinema Ticket

$17.11 NOK 161

$22.32 NOK 210

-23.34%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$234 NOK 2,201

$331 NOK 3,112

-29.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K NOK 124.2K

$14.4K NOK 135.5K

-8.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.3 NOK 925

$129 NOK 1,218

-24.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 NOK 533

$60.9 NOK 573

-7.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 NOK 1,198

$147 NOK 1,383

-13.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$157 NOK 1,482

$204 NOK 1,919

-22.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,107 NOK 10.4K

$1,691 NOK 15.9K

-34.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,011 NOK 9,518

$1,367 NOK 12.9K

-26.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,947 NOK 18.3K

$2,768 NOK 26.1K

-29.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,675 NOK 15.8K

$1,987 NOK 18.7K

-15.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,182 NOK 58.2K

$6,409 NOK 60.3K

-3.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,028 NOK 37.9K

$5,282 NOK 49.7K

-23.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,904 NOK 27.3K

$5,084 NOK 47.9K

-42.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

5.24

-5.73%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Longyearbyen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Stavanger: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Longyearbyen

$1K 36.7%

Stavanger

$1.4K 43% 35.2% $356

Groceries & Markets

Longyearbyen

$583 21.2%

Stavanger

$528 16.6% 9.4% $55

Eating Out

Longyearbyen

$405 14.7%

Stavanger

$446 14% 10.2% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Longyearbyen

$352 12.8%

Stavanger

$376 11.8% 6.7% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Longyearbyen

$198 7.2%

Stavanger

$243 7.7% 23.1% $46

Getting Around

Longyearbyen

$121 4.4%

Stavanger

$122 3.8% 1.5% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Longyearbyen

$84 3%

Stavanger

$99 3.1% 18.5% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,107 in Longyearbyen and $1,691 in Stavanger. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stavanger pays 75% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $104 in Longyearbyen vs $96.0 in Stavanger for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $583 vs $528 per month, with Stavanger cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Stavanger

🕒 Local time

13:37 1:37 PM

Same time as Longyearbyen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,400

149,330

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Longyearbyen Stavanger 2,170 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Longyearbyen
Stavanger

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Longyearbyen vs Stavanger: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Longyearbyen is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 16% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Stavanger. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,107 in Longyearbyen versus $1,691 in Stavanger. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Longyearbyen runs roughly 6% less than in Stavanger. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $234 in Longyearbyen versus $331 in Stavanger. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Longyearbyen is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Longyearbyen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Stavanger, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Longyearbyen and Stavanger are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Longyearbyen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Stavanger. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.